 Here at Maine Audubon, each fall we encourage you to keep your hummingbird feeders up. Here are blog posts, newspaper articles, and this is because even though we know our common ruby-throated hummingbirds are in Maine from the beginning of May through the end of September, it is later in the fall that hummingbirds from western portions of North America can show up here in the east. Most of these western hummingbirds are in the genus Salasphorus and can be hard to tell apart in the field. So to identify them and help us better understand their movements we'll get the help from a licensed hummingbird bander that will catch, measure, and put a band with a unique identifier on the bird's leg. The band is like a social security number for that bird and we use to identify it if the bird is ever seen or caught again. So when one of these Salasphorus hummingbirds was reported to us from a backyard in Dayton, we reached out to Scott Widenstall to help figure out exactly what it was. With the homeowner's permission we set up a homemade trap with a remote-controlled door that Scott had made. Please remember Scott is a licensed bander and has special permits to do this. It would be illegal for anyone else so do not try this at home. It did take a few tries but eventually our mystery bird took the bait. During the banding process Scott gathers a series of biometric information from the bird including the weight and looking at how much fat the bird has stored. Other measurements are also taken and hummingbirds can be aged by looking at the extent of corrugations along their bills. Definitely a hard feature to see unless the bird is in the hand. In a close examination of some feathers can tell us who this bird is. In this case a notch on the second retrix which is a tail feather. The smooth bill and a few red gorgate feathers make this an adult female. With those questions answered it was time to give this lady a quick drink before her release. And with a little puff of air for encouragement she was off. And it didn't take long before she was back at the feeder fueling up before making her next movement in her long migration. What we learned from these individuals is a peace and a large and ever-changing puzzle. So keep your hummingbird feeders up and let us know if you have any late visitors. You can always go to mainautobahn.org to learn more. Thanks.